


Somebody I Used to Know

by xo_marauders



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Black Family Drama (Harry Potter), First War with Voldemort, Heavy Angst, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), first wizarding war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:20:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_marauders/pseuds/xo_marauders
Summary: Sirius finds himself shaken by the reality of this war and the people he's fighting.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (implied), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (implied)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Somebody I Used to Know

**Author's Note:**

> tw: war and violence

There were sparks flying every which way, bursting from the tips of enemy and ally wands alike. Sirius was disoriented, his head whipping back and forth, looking behind to see if his friends were still alive while also trying to battle the Death Eaters in front of him. There were dozens of them, all of them wearing gaudy masks to hide their identity. Sirius sneered. He hated those masks. 

Suddenly, the ground beneath him exploded, launching him backwards to the ground. There was ringing in his ears and a sharp pain up his spine as he tried to sit up. The battle was still waging on, unable to pause and wait for Sirius to regain his footing. He cursed internally before forcing himself to stand despite his body’s protests. With his wand gripped tightly in his fist, he began to fight. 

Sirius never liked fighting, despite what everyone assumed at school. Sure, he had gotten into a few scraps with the Slytherins every now and then, but that was in the school yard. This was different. This was life or death and Sirius found himself feeling rather sick to his stomach as he tried to rack up the body count he contributed to in his head. He never wanted to kill, never wanted to fight in a war. But who else was going to do it? 

The hardest part was knowing that somehow he shared blood with those hiding behind the masks. That a great deal of them wouldn’t hesitate to kill him in the name of their Dark Lord. 

He couldn’t dwell on his thoughts too long because there was another sudden explosion and Sirius heard a familiar voice shout in pain. Without thinking, Sirius beelined toward where Remus was standing moments ago, needing to get to him with every fiber of his being. He spotted a death eater rushing there as well and felt a surge of fury jolt through him. 

_You can’t have him._

“ _Stupefy!_ ” He shouted and the Death Eater fell to the ground, their precious mask flying off in the process. Sirius reached forward, wanting to see the cowardice monster that hid behind such a mask. He wanted to see the fear in their eyes. His fist grabbed hold of the dark robes tightly as he spun the culprit around, though the fire in his eyes was extinguished quickly as a familiar pair of gray met them. 

Regulus was shaking, his hairline bleeding slightly and the forming of bruises on the side of his face making his pale skin stand out in great contrast. Sirius stared dumbfounded, unable to move and unable to act. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one knowing exactly what to do before Sirius heard himself snarl. 

“ _Go_ ,’ he hissed, shoving his brother away. Regulus stumbled a bit before regaining his footing and running away, not looking back once.

Sirius stared after him for a long moment, unaware of a voice in the distance hollering for him to move. He was frozen in place, world seeming to spin around him at the realization that his brother was fighting on the opposite side of this war. That there was a possibility of being killed by his own brother or worse—him being the one to take his little brothers life.

“Sirius,” There was a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away, forcing Sirius to turn back around and come to his senses. Remus was standing there, a mixture of dirt and blood across his face and fear shining in his amber eyes. “Sirius we have to go.”

All he could do was nod as Remus pulled at him again, the two of them running back to the others, retreating away from the battle. As soon as they regrouped with the others, Frank ordered for them all to disapparate back to headquarters, stating that this was a battle they wouldn’t be able to win. The crack of everyones departure rung in the air, and Sirius watched one by one as each of his friends spun on their heel and vanished. He lingered a moment after, looking over his shoulder once more at the wreckage and remaining Death Eaters that were scattering away.

Regulus had already fled the scene, but Sirius felt his heart rattle in his chest at the idea of having to inevitably fight his baby brother again. It was the last thing Sirius ever wanted to do. He knew that Regulus had made his decision of what side he was on the minute he started blindly following their parents beliefs with no question and began hanging around supporters of Voldemort, but Sirius still found himself holding onto the old Regulus. The one who laughed loudly at Sirius’ jokes, the one who was kind to house elves and the one who laid with Sirius when nightmares were too much.

The Regulus that Sirius would have done anything for.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts, Sirius spun on his heel, disapparating away, leaving behind the brother he thought he knew.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading  
> comments and kudos are always appreciated  
> come chat with me on tumblr @xomarauders


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